When Joseph Borton of Ionia began writing songs as a 13-year-old, he never imagined that one day he would record music and be part of his own record label. Similarly, Gilbert Olivares has gone on to become a part of the Michigan music scene despite interventions from family and friends. Borton has joined with Cleveland-native Olivares in order to promote their label and make music.

Borton met Olivares a few years ago and since that time, the two have worked together to create music and have collaborated to create R.N.S. Entertainment, of which Olivares is the CEO.

Since coming together, Olivares has not only started R.N.S. Entertainment, but the group has also been actively involved with promoting themselves and their music throughout the area. As part of Olivares' position as CEO, he works to book shows and meet people in the industry across the state.

During a typical week, Olivares travels across Michigan to meet with people in cities such as Kalamazoo, Decatur, Jackson, Muskegon, Lansing and many others. All of this is just a piece of the promotion business.

Part of the job is working on booking shows, which Olivares has done in the past and continuously works on. The group has performed with Mike Jones and Slaughterhouse in the past, just to name a few.

Other aspects of promoting their music include creating music, recording music and performing live shows. According to Borton, all of the music offered through the group is free, but those who desire to leave a donation are able to do so through ReverbNation, an online tool for musicians. The group collectively decided to have their donations benefit breast cancer foundations.

Borton and Olivares are the business heads of R.N.S. Entertainment, along with William Hennings and James Wilson. Hennings and Wilson worked with Olivares on projects before he became affiliated with Borton, and now have joined in to promote the group.

As part of their efforts to stay local, Olivares and Borton have taken Tomas Lara under their wing. As an 11-year-old, Lara began recording music and had songs featured online years before joining with R.N.S. Entertainment.

"Tomas shows a lot of passion. He's good at making music and he's good in the business. I have 100 percent faith in his future," said Borton.

Borton and Olivares decided to take Lara, who is now 15, into their label in order to introduce him to the industry and help him to develop his musical proficiency.

"One of the great things about Tomas, and one of the reasons why he fits in so well with our group, is that he is confident enough to be himself. And like us, he doesn't feel the need to build up an image," Borton said.

Page 2 of 2 - Although the group has reached enough fame to collaborate with artists throughout the state, and are even presenting Gucci Mane at what Olivares and others in the industry have called "the hottest ticket of the summer," R.N.S. Entertainment is grounded by their local community and fans.

"A lot of our fans are from Ionia and a lot of them come from a Latin background. I have strong roots with my Latin background and love my fans," said Borton.

One of the ways the group is able to remain centered on their hometown is by not allowing racial politics or competition to stand in the way of their dreams.

"Rap is a competitive sport. You've got to focus on your lane because if you don't, you're like a race horse with blinders. You can't get caught up in what others are doing," Borton said.

Borton attributes some of his recent success to the birth of his daughter this year. According to Borton, before she was born, he was in a slump trying to decide how to allocate his time as a father, employee and a musician.

"Now that she is here, I've realized that it's so much simpler than I thought it would be. I need to produce more output because I have more that needs to be done, but it's important to keep working on your dreams," Borton said.

On June 22, R.N.S. Entertainment will be presenting Gucci Mane in the Steelcase Ballroom at Devos Place. The concert will be the first for the label. The show begins at 8 p.m. and doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Olivares and also online at www.ticketmaster.com. For general admission, tickets are $28.50, for 2nd tier admission, tickets are $43.50 and for front row, tickets are $63.50.

"One of the great things about this show is that we are able to do it at Devos Place. Devos really is looking for a new audience and our label is going to be able to help fill that void along with a lot of great acts from Grand Rapids and Muskegon who will also be there," said Olivares.

The group will continue to work on music, both separately and collaboratively, and have projects in the works for the future. Olivares' mixed tape "What's Eating Gilbert's Grapes" will be released June 24 and later this year, the group plans to have music from their combination. Borton's music can be found at www.reverbnation.com/joeybmuzik and Lara's can be found at www.reverbnation.com/ktfmusic. Since they all had their own separate fan bases when they began working together, they have been able to draw on the strengths of each other in order to get the most out of their music.